1769.

November.

ner; but the area was not large enough to contain more than five or fix houses: it was acceffible only by one very narrow and steep path, by which the inhabitants, at our approach, came down, and invited us into the place; but we refufed, intending to visit a much more confiderable fort of the fame kind at about a mile's distance. We made fome prefents, however, to the women, and in the mean time we saw the inhabitants of the town, which we were going to, coming towards us in a body, men, women, and children, to the number of about one hundred when they came near enough to be heard, they waved their hands and called out Horomai, after which they fat down among the bushes near the beach. Thefe ceremonies, we were told, were certain figns of their friendly dispo sition. We advanced to the place where they were fitting, and when we came up made them a few prefents, and afked leave to vifit their Heppah; they confented, with joy in their countenances, and immediately led the way. It is called WHARRETOUWA, and is fituated upon a high promontory, or point, which projects into the fea on the north fide, and near the head of the bay. Two fides of it are washed by the fea, and these are altogether inacceffible; two other fides are to the land; up one of them, which is very fteep, lies the avenue from the beach, the other is flat and open to the country upon the hill, which is a narrow ridge; the whole is inclofed by a pallifade about ten feet high, confifting of ftrong pales bound toge ther with withes. The weak fide next the land is alfo defended by a double ditch, the innermoft of which has a bank and an additional pallifade; the inner pallifades are upon the bank next the town, but at fuch a distance from the top of the bank, as to leave room for men to walk and ufe their arms between them and the inner ditch. The outermoft pallifades are between the two ditches, and driven obliquely into the ground, fo that their upper ends incline over the inner ditch the depth of this ditch, from the bottom to the top, or crown of the bank, is four-and-twenty feet. Clofe within the innermoft pallifade is a stage twenty feet high, forty feet long, and fix broad; it is supported by strong pofts, and is intended as a ftation

M 3

for

1769. November.

for those who defend the place, from which they may
annoy the affailants by darts and ftones, heaps of
which lay ready for ufe. Another ftage of the fame
kind commands the steep avenue from the beach, and
stands also within the pallifade: On this fide of the
hill there are some little out-works and huts, not in-
tended as advanced pofts, but as the habitations of
people who for want of room could not be accommo-
dated within the works, but who were, notwithstand-
ing, defirous of placing themselves under their protec-
tion. The pallifades, as has been observed already,
run round the whole brow of the hill, as well towards
the sea as towards the land; but the ground within
having originally been a mount, they have reduced it
not to one level, but to feveral, rifing in ftages one
above the other, like an amphitheatre, each of which
is inclosed within its feparate pallifade: they communi-
cate with each other by narrow lanes, which might ea-
fily be stopped up; fo that if an enemy fhould force
the outward pallifade, he would have others to carry
before the place could be wholly reduced, fuppofing
these places to be obftinately defended one after the
other. The only entrance is by a narrow paffage, about
twelve feet long, communicating with the fteep afcent
from the beach: it paffes under one of the fighting
ftages, and though we faw nothing like a door or gate-
way, it may be easily barricaded in a manner that will
make the forcing it a very dangerous and difficult un-
dertaking. Upon the whole, this must be confidered
as a place of great ftrength, in which a small number
of refolute men may defend themfelves against all the
force which a people with no other arms than those
that are in ufe here could bring against it. It seemed
to be well furnished for a fiege with every thing but
water; we saw great quantities of fern-root, which
they eat as bread, and dried fish piled up in heaps;
but we could not perceive that they had any fresh wa-
ter nearer than a brook, which runs clofe under the
foot of the hill: whether they have any means of get-.
ting it from this place during a fiege, or whether they
have any method of ftoring it within the works in
gourds or other veffels, we could not learn; fome re-
fource they certainly have with refpect to this article, an
indifpenfable

November.

indispensable neceffary of life, for otherwife the laying 1769. up dry provisions could answer no purpose. Upon our expreffing a defire to fee their method of attack and defence, one of the young men mounted a fighting stage, which they call Porava, and another went into the ditch; both he that was to defend the place, and he that was to affault it, fung the war fong, and danced with the fame frightful gefticulations that we had seen used in more ferious circumstances, to work themselves up into a degree of that mechanical fury, which, among all uncivilized nations, is the neceffary prelude to a battle; for difpaffionate courage, a ftrength of mind that can furmount the fenfe of danger, without a flow of animal fpirits by which it is extinguished, seems to be the prerogative of those who have projects of more lasting importance, and a keener sense of honour and difgrace, than can be formed or felt by men who have few pains or pleasures befides those of mere animal life, and scarcely any purpose but to provide for the day that is paffing over them, to obtain plunder, or revenge an infult: they will march against each other indeed in cool blood, though they find it neceffary to work themfelvs into paffion before they engage; as among us there have been many instances of people who have deliberately made themfelves drunk, that they might execute a project which they formed when they were fober, but which, while they continued fo, they did not dare to undertake.

On the fide of the hill, near this inclosure, we faw about half an acre planted with gourds and fweet potatoes, which was the only cultivation in the bay: under the foot of the point upon which this fortification ftands, are two rocks, one juft broken off from the main, and the other not perfectly detached from it: they are both small, and feem more proper for the habitations of birds than men; yet there are houses and places of defence upon each of them. And we saw many other works of the fame kind upon fmall iflands, rocks, and ridges of hills, on different parts of the coaft, befides many fortified towns, which appeared to be much fuperior to this.

The perpetual hoftility in which these poor favages, who have made every village a fort, mult ncceffarily M 4

live,

live, will account for there being fo little of their land in a ftate of cultivation; and, as mifchiefs very often reciprocally produce each other, it may perhaps appear, that there being fo little land in a ftate of cultivation, will account for their living in perpetual hoftility. But it is very strange, that the fame invention and diligence which have been ufed in the conftruction of places fo admirably adapted to defence, almost without tools, fhould not, when urged by the fame neceffity, have furnished them with a fingle missile weapon except the lance, which is thrown by hand : they have no contrivance like a bow to discharge a dart, nor any thing like a fling to affift them in throwing a ftone; which is the more furprising, as the invention of flings, and bows and arrows, is much more obvious than of the works which these people conftru&t, and both these weapons are found among much ruder nations, and in almost every other part of the world. Befides the long lance and Patoo-Patoo, which have been mentioned already; they have a staff about five feet long, fometimes pointed, like a Serjeant's halberd, fometimes only tapering to a point at one end, and having the other end broad, and fhaped fomewhat like the blade of an oar. They have also another weapon, about a foot fhorter than thefe, pointed at one end, and at the other shaped like an axe. The points of their long lances are barbed, and they handle them with fuch strength and agility, that we can match them with no weapon but a loaded mufquet.

After taking a flight view of the country, and loading both the boats with celery, which we found in great plenty near the beach, we returned from our excurfion, and about five o'clock in the evening got on board the ship.

On the 15th, I failed out of the bay, and at the fame time had feveral canoes on board, in one of which was our friend Toiava, who faid, that as foon as we were gone he must repair to his Heppah or fort, because the friends of the man who had been shot by Mr. Gore on the 9th, had threatened to revenge his death upon him, whom they had reproached as being our friend. Off the north point of the bay, I faw a great number of iflands, of various extent, which lay

fcattered

November.

fcattered to the north-west, in a direction parallel with, 1769. the main as far as I could fee. I fteered north-eaft for the north-eaftermoft of thefe iflands; but the wind coming to the north-west, I was obliged to ftand out to fea.

To the bay which we had now left I gave the name of MERCURY BAY, on account of the obfervation which we had made there of the tranfit of that planet over the fun. It lies in latitude 36 4 S. and in the longitude of 184° 4′ W. there are several. iflands lying both to the fouthward and northward of it, and a fmall island or rock in the middle of the entrance: within this island the depth of water no where exceeds nine fathom: the best anchoring is in a fandy bay, which lies juft within the fouth head, in five and four fathom, bringing a high tower or rock, which lies without the head, in one with the head, or just fhut in behind it. This place is very convenient both for wooding and watering, and in the river there is an immenfe quantity of oyfters and other fhell fifh: I have for this reafon given it the name of OYSTER RIVER. But for a fhip that wants to ftay here any time, the best and safeft place is in the river at the head of the bay; which, from the number of mangrove trees about it, I have called MANGROVE RIVER. into this river, the fouth fhore must be kept all the way on board. The country on the eaft fide of the river and bay is very barren, its only produce being fern, and a few other plants that will grow in a poor foil. The land on the north-weft fide is covered with wood, and the foil being much more fertile, would doubtlefs produce all the neceffaries of life with proper cultivation: it is not however fo fertile as the lands that we have feen to the fouthward; nor do the inhabitants, though numerous, make fo good an appearance they have no plantations; their canoes are mean and without ornament; they fleep in the open air; and fay, that Teratu, whofe fovereignty they do not acknowledge, if he was to come among them, would kill them. This favoured our opinion of their being outlaws; yet they told us, that they had Heppahs or ftrong holds, to which they retired in time of imminent danger.

To fail

We